At around 10:58 local time (GMT0858), the bourse’s BET index was down 0.37% from Monday closing level, while composite index BET-C was losing 0.32%.
Brokers say the slight drop could be due to developments on foreign markets, which opened in red as well Tuesday, but also a reaction to Romanian President Traian Basescu’s decision to not sign the Memorandum of Understanding agreed with the International Monetary Fund
Basescu is against an increase by EUR0.07 of the fuel excise duty, and, as a result of his decision, the IMF’s board postponed its review of Romania’s progress under the EUR2 billion loan signed earlier in 2013.
Most major stocks listed in Bucharest were falling after the first hour of trading, with Fondul Proprietatea (FO.RO) losing 0.6%, Banca Transilvania (TLV.RO) down 0.8%, while Romgaz (SNG.RO) and OMV Petrom (SNP.RO) inched down 0.03% and 0.04%, respectively.
BET-FI, which tracks Proprietatea and the five regional investment funds (SIFs), was down 0.73%, while BET-XT was down 0.42%.
Bucharest benchmark index BET-BK was losing 0.55%, while energy stocks tracker Bet-NG traded down 0.22%.
The bourse’s turnover was rather low, at 6.9 million lei (EUR1.5 million) after the first hour of the session, with Fondul Proprietatea trades accounting for half of the amount. (EUR1=RON4.4359)